


familiar, but not

by lemon_alien_lime



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Gen, this is mostly gonna play fast and loose with myths in general whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 13:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16018688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_alien_lime/pseuds/lemon_alien_lime
Summary: A collection of stories based on my own interpretations of Greek mythology. Some changes are subtle, others are more drastic; but I hope you will accept that.





	1. the boy who wanted wings

▪▪■■▪▪

 

thanatos has never asked for his wings.

he never asked for them to rip and tear their way out of his muscle, out of the skin that once coated their entryway.

he never asked for the tears, the begging and pleading for it to stop, _make it stop; **please, mother**_ \--

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

he did not ask for them.

but that did not mean he loathed them.

to loathe them would be to hate his mother, for was it not her whi gave them to him?

thanatos did not hate his mother. he did not want to.

what he loathed was the pain of carrying his wings; the pain of the heavy weight pulling and tugging on his spine; the aches and jabs whenever he moved them.

it was a necessary evil, so he told himself. a necessary pain to bear.

he could not ask his mother to fix them, for that would be to undermine her judgment; she made the wings as they were. she was not to be questioned.

thanatos did not question his mother. he did not want to.

he was not a blind follower; of course not. that was absurd!

he simply obeyed his superiors.

he always obeyed.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

there was a boy he was sent to visit. the boy had a father; but then again, they always did.

the father and son had escaped a prison, so he was told. a prison of stone and iron. a maze; a labryinth. it once held a mannish bull. a monster.

but no longer.

now they were all free. man and beast alike, their chains were shattered; but in different ways.

thanatos would not have bothered to fetch them, had he been a more disobedient son.

orders were orders.

mother wanted the boy dead.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

when thanatos found them, he was surprised.

he had expected them to be on foot, on a boat; anything but the air.

and yet there they were, soaring and swooping like eagles over the water, in a domain not their own.

what captured thanatos most was the boy. no, not a boy; though his childish recklessness made him seem like one. a man.

a beautiful man.

a free man.

thanatos watched as he propelled himself forward with ease, accustomed to the wings though they were not part of him.

it had taken years for thanatos to fly.

this man had barely an hour.

he should be jealous of the man, shouldn't he? angry that this man learned instantly what _he_ had strived to achieve.

and yet.

_and yet._

there was no malice in thanatos as he glided alongside the man, examining him; examining the wings. feathers, bonded with wax seals; obvious signs of rushed work as they struggled to escape before their captors found out.

thanatos was sent to collect.

and he should collect, shouldn't he?

and yet...

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

thanatos could not.

so he asked for a favor from someone who would.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

the sun called to the man, singing sweet promises dripping with gold and honey; it promised the boy immortality, a godliness that greatly surpassed even the riches his father had once gained.

the sun called, and the man answered.

thanatos watched without dread as the man climbed higher and higher, the upper winds buffeting him as he flew, ignoring his father's pleas to stop.

higher and higher.

and higher still.

then thanatos smiled, in awe of the silhouette that the man made as his wings tore to shreds and his feathers blew away with the wind.

thanatos was mesmerized. for a moment, it seemed like time itself had slowed to let each second drip agonisingly by as the man plummeted.

thanatos watched him closely, taking in every detail. the way his fingers clenched as if trying to grasp the air that slipped through his fingers. the way his mouth opened and let out a scream of terror as he dropped down

down

 _down_ , reaching for his father; his father reaching for him.

he was glorious.

thanatos wished he could make that moment last forever.

the man, surrounded by light shining above, falling, flailing; helpless and desperate.

and then it was over.

the father screamed as his son hit the water.

thanatos' enchantment broke. his smile faded. it was time.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

it was hard to locate a soul under the water. but thanatos found him.

the man's body was a wreck. bones shattered, neck snapped and limp, arms and legs twisted and mangled.

yet he was still alive. barely, yes; but alive.

thanatos thought him even more beautiful that way; even more than at his descent.

pained eyes, waterlogged, blinked at him as he reached to tug the ethereal from the physical. crooked hands stretched out, shaking.

and that was when he heard it, that soft, silky voice. even the water filling his lungs could not take away from the sheer exquisiteness of it.

"i've always wanted wings."

thanatos nearly laughed. how those fascimiles of metal and wax must have thrilled him! how he must have been filled with bliss as he glided through the air.

the man's eyes closed and his breathing stopped.

and his soul was as bright as thanatos thought it would be. lustrous and gold, like the sun he had been seeking just minutes prior. at that, thanatos was not surprised.

the soul had given him all the answers he had wanted, for he knew how to read them.

 _icarus. a perfect name_ , thanatos mused, brushing his lips gently across the man's knuckles.

icarus did not respond.

souls did not have voices.

not anymore.


	2. restless

▪▪■■▪▪

 

"demeter--"

"what?" you roll over to face your lover, tired and yawning.

hades' eyes are wide (you wipe the unattainable sleep from your own), and he obviously has something to say (you prop yourself up on your elbow).

"watch- watch this--"

"hnh?"

hades raises his hand up to both your eye levels, and makes a fist. watching you closely, he extends his middle finger with a straight and somewhat curious expression.

you glance between the finger, and hades, and back to the finger again and you let out a soft snort.

"where did you learn that?" you laugh, gently balling up his hand as you place your own over it.

"eris showed me. she says it means 'i love you'," comes the reply, and you laugh again because _of course she did_ ; your husband can be a naive fool sometimes and she knows that full well.

"its meaning is quite the opposite, i'm afraid," you correct, pressing a kiss to his embarrassed cheeks. "you shouldn't trust eris. you know how she is."

"i'll be sure to tell her that."

you laugh one last time, and close your eyes.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

"demeter--"

" _what?_ " this time you groan, and only flip onto your back, muttering curses to the ceiling.

hades shakes your shoulder a little hesitantly, and you notice the strange warmth next to your legs. you sit up, look down, and furrow your brows at the strange feathery ball that has invaded your bed. the ball rises and falls in a steady rhythm, then folds up a pair--no, two pairs--of wings to reveal a very familiar figure.

a figure you've never expected to be there, or anywhere close to your private chambers. thanatos was much too decent for that.

"he smells like the sea," hades murmurs (because he knows you smell it too), afraid to wake up the god; and he trades a look with you (because he knows how much the smell makes you nauseous).

"where did he get two more wings?" you whisper, feeling light-headed at the sandy, salty scent. you press your head back into your pillows, squeezing your eyes shut as you try not to breath.

"i can ask him to leave." you hear hades shift, and you hear whispers; thanatos rises, and you hear hades gasp softly and curse (there was a first for everything, apparently) and the sound makes you open your eyes again to your lover's worried face.

"he's bleeding, demeter. it's the new wings..."

"then _help_ him," you mumble, and you hear more whispers before hades comes back.

"but he says he's fine." the smell of ocean drifts away and hades curses another time, looking after thanatos worriedly.

"he's not. trust me."

and you close your eyes yet again, sleep taking you before you hear a response.

 

▪▪■■▪▪

 

"demeter--"

" _ **what?**_ " you're tired, you're fed up with being awoken over and over in the middle of the night--

it's not hades you see when you roll over.

it's thanatos.

you soften, tucking your legs under yourself as you sit up. the blanket falls off of you, leaving you bare in the light (it was morning _already_?), but you don't mind. thanatos is one of the few men you trust nowadays.

the death god looks as haggard as you are--he always has, given the stress of his work; but he seems worse somehow. even with the flat, emotionless persona he displays, he appears so vulnerable and so out of place in the harsh glow that you lean forward and reach out and hug him tightly (even with the smell).

he stiffens, then relaxes into the embrace, cradling you back. you feel something hot drip onto your forehead, then another, and you realise that thanatos is crying. and after a while, you realise you are too.

"my king bids you farewell," thanatos mutters in that low, soft voice of his. "there's urgent business with mothe--lady nyx he needs to deal with. he asked me to stay behind for a while, though. he said you would understand."

and you do. you do, and you are terrified of the answer. you pull away, studying the bruises and bites on his skin (barely visible against the deep brown of their canvas, but there altogether) with a scrutiny so fearful and unwittingly fierce that even _death himself_ shrinks back.

"why would poseidon hurt you in such a way?" you growl, seeing the marks dip below the collar of thanatos' chiton--no doubt they also marred the skin hidden behind the black cloth. they almost mirror the ones you received on that day, the ones you hated and scorned until they faded away. but their memory never did.

"hasn't he taken _enough_ from others?" you spit the words out like venom. hasn't he taken enough from _you_?

"i owe him a debt," thanatos--sweet, patient, undeserving thanatos--explains quietly, shirking back at another touch from you. "there's no other way i could pay--"

" _you have **plenty** of other ways_!" you shout, frustrated and upset that that _monster_ has hurt one of your own again. men like him would never be satisfied. "you're the god of death; surely you could smite whatever mortal he dislikes and call it even."

"he performed my job for me. he killed someone. a boy." you wait for him to go on, burning tears making their way down both your faces. thanatos merely sucks in a shuddering, ragged breath between his teeth. "mother gave his wings to me. he always wanted them," he murmurs, and you don't understand what he means at all but you don't care to find out or even ask.

"you don't have to--" you begin again, but you know your words will go unheeded again. thanatos never makes decisions he isn't completely sure of.

"i have more debts to repay, now that the sun has risen. lord poseidon is not the only one..." he turns away from you slowly, and you choke on a sob because he deserves far more than to be used like you were not so long ago.

at least he won't have to raise or discard the children of such pain, you think bitterly, foolishly, watching him disappear without so much as a backward glance. a part of you hates him for leaving, for throwing himself willingly to be played with and discarded like an object (because you know how _they_ are). for leaving you alone, crying on his behalf, alone with your thoughts and your memories.

so you wipe and dry your eyes, and lie back down, pulling the sheets over your head as you ignore your daughter calling for you.

and you close your eyes, and dream of what happened to the children you gave away.


End file.
